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Key Primary Races In North Carolina And Pennsylvania Tomorrow; FDA Commissioner Joins New Day Amid Baby Formula Shortage; McDonald's Is Selling Its Russia Business, Leaving Nation Altogether. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired May 16, 2022 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:30:00]

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you can tell that Donald Trump is watching this closely. He is out there. He is bashing Barnette. He is bashing McCormick. This is a very important race to him because many of his aides actually told him not to endorse Oz, so he wants to prove them wrong -- and also, of course, he wants to win.

Now, on the Democratic side, you have the lieutenant governor John Fetterman, who has essentially been leading with a huge margin now for weeks. Sunday, after days of canceling political events, he announced that he had a minor stroke and that it was found at a hospital on Friday. He said that this stroke was caused by a clot from his heart being in A-fib rhythm for too long.

Now, he said that the doctors told him there's no long-term damage. That he is recovering. That he plans to be back on the trail. But he is still in the hospital.

And this is a bit of a wild card here. John, there could not be more at stake right now. In the fall, these two candidates, whoever wins, will be competing for retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's seat, and this is one of the only seats here in Pennsylvania that Democrats believe they might actually be able to flip. So, with the majority hanging in the balance there are a lot of eyes on this and a lot riding on these primaries.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Kristen Holmes in Pennsylvania. We'll talk more about John Fetterman and his stroke in just a moment.

But first, let's go to Eva in North Carolina, watching the races there very closely, including particularly, the race of Congressman Madison Cawthorn.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Right, John. There are several key races to watch here in North Carolina.

Madison Cawthorn fighting for his political future here. Just an onslaught of criticism that he faces even from members of his own party. But he does have the Trump endorsement and at the end of the day, it is the voters that will decide.

Also, another key race here is the Senate Republican primary where Ted Budd is favored to do well. Trump endorsed him last year -- not a Johnny come lately to this race, like he has been with many others. Budd competing against former governor Pat McCrory, as well as former congressman Mark Walker.

Budd really has branded himself as a conservative fighter. But when you ask him if the -- if President Biden won the election he sort of dances around the issue and says he has grave constitutional concerns. So, perhaps no confusion as to why he enjoys Trump's support.

Now, if Budd is successful Tuesday he will go up against Cheri Beasley. She is a former Supreme Court justice -- judge in this state.

And the reason North Carolina is so heavily watched is because this is a battleground state and this state could determine the balance of power here in Washington. So all eyes on North Carolina -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Eva McKend in North Carolina and Kristen Holmes in Pennsylvania, our thanks to both of you.

And as Kristen mentioned, Pennsylvania lieutenant governor and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman says he is recovering from a stroke.

This was his statement. Quote, "I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long. I'm feeling much better, and the doctors tell me I didn't suffer any cognitive damage. I'm well on my way to a full recovery."

Joining us now, vascular neurosurgery specialist and the director of stroke services at Lenox Hill Hospital's Department of Neurology, Dr. Salman Azhar. Doctor, thank you so much for being with us.

Explain to us what the lieutenant governor's statement there just said, and talk to us about the idea -- he says he's going to be back on the trail soon. Is that -- is that reasonable?

DR. SALMAN AZHAR, VASCULAR NEUROSURGERY SPECIALIST, DIRECTOR OF STROKE SERVICES, LENOX HILL HOSPITAL: Well, John and Kaitlan, thank you, first of all, for having me on.

And, you know, I think the lieutenant governor got very lucky and he should be very grateful to his wife for forcing him to go into the hospital on time and in time to get this lifesaving procedure that he got. And clearly, he went in with a stroke caused by this irregular heart rhythm, which is about 10% of the reason why people have stroke in our country is because of atrial fibrillation.

A clot gets formed in the heart and gets rocketed up to the brain, and it usually leads to a large stroke with a lot of disability. But I think because he got there in time they were able to get rid of the clot and as he said, they were -- he's not left with any significant damage. And people do very well with these new procedures that we have and they're able to walk out of the hospital like nothing happened.

And it's really purely because he got there on time. And I think -- because of that, I think there's a really good chance -- looking at the video that he put out also on Twitter, there's a very good chance that he's going to be doing very well.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And you just see how critical early detection here is though, because that is what he said played such a key role. I mean, these candidates -- just anyone, but these candidates out on the campaign trail -- it's this grueling schedule. Of course, you're just days away from this race. I mean, what would have happened if he had not gone in at this time?

AZHAR: Minutes matter, and if he'd gone in maybe 10 or 20 minutes later that damage may not have been reversible. And so, the brain gets stunned immediately as that clot hits the brain and then some of it starts to die right away. But if we're lucky, we have enough other blood vessels that kind of fill in and supply enough blood so that you can reverse it as soon as you pull that clot out. And time is so essential here.

[07:35:09]

The other thing that's really important, and he said this -- you know, that he was in atrial fibrillation for too long -- that irregular heart rhythm. And if you know that you have an irregular heart rhythm, getting in and seeing your doctor right away so that it doesn't form a clot because you want to catch this early.

And one of the greatest, I think, advances is that we live in an age of wearables, right -- technology and wearables. And being able to test your A-fib on an Apple Watch or something -- these are all the things that we can use as the public can to really improve our health and really be proactive about our health.

But he got very lucky. And I'm really grateful that, you know -- and this is really I think a teaching point for all of us. If you notice something is wrong with you or one of your loved ones, get into the hospital as fast as you can -- and call 911 and get in there fast.

BERMAN: All right. We should also note that the senator Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, says he suffered a minor stroke over the weekend. It was a different cause from a small venous tear at the back of his head, he says.

Just talk to us about warning signs, though, in general, because you were just bringing that up. And I know that wearables and Apple Watches can help, but what sort of things should you be looking for?

AZHAR: So, we use -- in stroke, we use this mnemonic called B.E.F.A.S.T. It's easy to remember.

So, B stands for balance. If all of a sudden your balance goes. E is for eyes. If all of a sudden you can't see or your vision changes. F is for face. If your loved one's face starts to droop on one side, right?

A is for arm. The arm starts to drift down. That could be a stroke. And finally, speech. If your speech goes -- if you start slurring your speech or you can't speak at all. Any one of those symptoms, get into the hospital. Call 911. And so, you remember B.E.F.A.S.T. and you remember nothing else you'll save yourself and maybe a loved one's life by getting in fast.

BERMAN: I've got to tell you, I will remember that.

AZHAR: Yes.

BERMAN: That is very descriptive and very helpful.

Dr. Azhar, thank you so much for being with us.

AZHAR: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: Thank you.

AZHAR: Thank you.

BERMAN: So, rage and desperation growing nationwide with the shortage of baby formula. What went wrong and what's being done to fix it? This morning, there may be some new measures about to get underway. We're going to speak to the FDA commissioner next.

COLLINS: On top of that, Sweden and Finland are now being fast- tracked into NATO membership. But what happens if Turkey tries to veto the move? We'll discuss that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:40]

COLLINS: Parents across the United States are still struggling this morning to get their hands on baby formula amid the ongoing nationwide shortage.

Joining us now to talk about that is Dr. Rob Califf, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Califf, thank you for joining us this morning.

And I want to start with the FDA, given they are expected to announce new moves, we were told, soon to help alleviate this shortage. So what can you tell us about that?

DR. ROBERT CALIFF, COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: Well, thanks, and it's good to be here with you this morning.

Let me just start out by saying that we're very concerned about this. I personally helped raise three kids and we've got six grandkids, one of whom is in the infant formula age.

So we know how important this is to parents. And it's a terrible feeling when one is concerned about feeding a child, so we're doing everything we can 24/7 to work on this and get it right.

Now, in terms of what we're doing, we're working with the manufacturers to increase their production. We're working on the supply chain to get the right product to the right place at the right time. We're working closely with Abbott to get that plant that was shut down up and operating as soon as possible. And we're also working to make it possible to use formula that was intended for other countries in a set of announcements that I expect will come out -- anticipate will come out by the end of the day today.

COLLINS: And those announcements -- how much are they going to change the shortage that's happening right now?

CALIFF: Well, over time, they should have a big effect because we'll have access to a lot more formula from different manufacturers. This will gradually improve over a period of a few weeks, but we really do anticipate that within a few weeks we'll have things back to normal.

COLLINS: And do you think in a few weeks this Abbott Nutrition plant that has caused so many of these issues when they closed and did this voluntary recall -- do you think it will be reopened by then?

CALIFF: Yes. Abbott is on record as saying that once we reach final agreement on how to get the plant reopened the processes and procedures to make sure that the product is safe when it comes out -- they've said around two weeks to get product out and then a few more weeks after that to get up to full speed. We'll need to be watching this every step of the way because as you know, we don't want to be sending product out which is dangerous for infants. And I have every anticipation that we've got a path forward now that will work.

COLLINS: OK, so two weeks, potentially, for the reopen. But then, still several more weeks after that before the shelves start to look back to normal.

I do wonder, Dr. Califf, if this is a shortage that you believe could have been prevented.

CALIFF: I think there are always things that we could do better. Our focus right now is just on making sure we get every infant taken care of around the country, which we do have adequate supply for at this point. It's just that the supply is not necessarily in the right place. And so, we're needing to help parents find the formula that they need.

But as this clears up, I think everyone is going to be interested in looking back to see what could have done -- been done better, including us. Representative DeLauro I think got it right when she said we want to go as fast as possible but as safely as possible.

[07:45:12]

And when you're balancing those two things, as shown by the fact that when that plant shut down it did have an impact on supply chain -- you know, this is a complex and difficult set of decisions. But we always want to do better and many people will be looking at this, including us internally at the FDA.

COLLINS: Yes, and I think, of course, making sure this formula is safe for infants is of the highest priority. But it does seem that when this concern about this facility was first raised back in the fall, officials could have come up with a game plan for what would happen if it did have to close. So I think that raises the question of why the FDA didn't take more aggressive action if they knew about this complaint and these concerns back last fall.

CALIFF: Well, I have to say that we've been working on it pretty much around the clock since it started and there are a cascade of decisions that had to be made with some relatively unpredictable consequences. But we're doing the very best that we can and totally dedicated to making this work out. And we'll have plenty of time over the next period of time to examine how we do things to make sure we do it better.

I'd point out that we have budget hearings with the House this week and Rep. DeLauro, who you quoted in your previous segment, has called attention to the fact that we need more funding. It's a total of nine people who are focused on infant formula at the FDA. And the budget -- we got an additional four people allocated last year. But we're going to need more than that. This is a huge part of the well-being of Americans and our most vulnerable, young children, so we're very concerned about it.

COLLINS: And how many people do you think should be overseeing this at the FDA?

CALIFF: We're working on the exact number that we think would be ideal and let's just say it's several times more than the number that we currently have. And remember that we're not -- you know, we're talking about people inside the FDA but also our investigators -- those who go out to the plants. In the midst of a pandemic, this has been quite a stressful time for them also. And so, we've got to provide support so that we have correct oversight over these kinds of problems that we saw at the Sturgis --

COLLINS: Well -- and Dr. Califf --

CALIFF: -- plant.

COLLINS: -- you talked about unpredictable circumstances here but isn't it known how much formula is purchased every week? We know pretty much how many babies are born in the United States given most of them are born in hospitals. So when you say unpredictable it seems like you -- the math could have been here given we know how much formula is purchased, we know how much formula this one particular is responsible for, and we know how many babies there are in the United States. So I just don't see how the FDA did not see a shortage like this coming.

CALIFF: Well, I would just point out that first of all, the numbers that are quoted commonly in the press are incorrect. And I'll point you to a White House sheet that has the details of how we've been looking at the numbers as we tracked it.

I don't want this to sound in any way like we're not concerned about the parents that are struggling to find formula for their children. That's definitely happening in parts of the country. But the number of stock on shelves was about 90% before the pandemic

-- I'm sorry, before the recall, and it dropped to about 79% at its lowest. And we're on the way back up now. And I'd also point out more formula was bought in the last month than in the month before the recall.

And so, there is formula out there but we definitely have a distribution problem and we're going to need to examine that very carefully. Each manufacturer has its own distribution system but there is no overall system that gets the right formula to the right place. The current system works great as long as there's nothing perturbing it, but when the plant shut down it definitely caused problems.

COLLINS: So are you --

CALIFF: And you're correct to call attention to it, and we're working on it.

COLLINS: Thank you, and sorry for the interruption. But I guess that question -- and you say you're going to look back and examine this -- are you committed to coming up with a backup plan at the FDA so a shortage like this, forcing parents to drive hundreds of miles sometimes to get formula for their children, doesn't happen again?

CALIFF: Well, this is going to be a topic of the House hearings and the budget and many other hearings that will occur. We all need to work together to come up with a system that's better to prevent this from happening.

[07:50:00]

I'd also point out these supply chain issues are not unique to this industry. This is just, of course, the one we're most concerned about because it is infants -- you know, our dearest and most precious people. But we're also seeing problems in other components of the supply chain that demand that we look at it differently and take advantage of modern technology to do a better job of routing the right supply to the right place at the right time.

So what you suggest is very much in our plans and we'll be discussing it with Congress.

COLLINS: Dr. Califf, such an important issue and, of course, we'll be looking forward to the FDA announcements today. Thank you for joining us.

CALIFF: Thank you.

COLLINS: Up next, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos versus President Biden on how to solve the inflation crisis? Who's right? We'll have a CNN fact- check up next.

BERMAN: And just in, we're getting brand-new details in on the racist massacre in Buffalo -- word that the suspect had even more plans after the rampage at the grocery store. The district attorney will join us live. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:08]

BERMAN: This morning, a new record for gas prices -- an average of $4.48 per gallon. In some states, Americans are paying $5 or more.

CNN's Pete Muntean live in Alexandria with the latest -- Pete.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you know it's bad when $4.35 is some of the cheapest gas you can find around here right now.

Look at how fast these prices are going. Up 15 cents for a gallon of regular, the nationwide average in the last week. Up 40 cents in the last month. Think about where we were a year ago when the national average for a gallon of regular was $3.04. Hard to think about when you see today's high prices.

What is so interesting is that analysts say that these prices will continue to go up even as more and more people are buying gas. Demand rose 3% in the last month. Now, oil producers need to ramp up supply from the depths of the pandemic, meaning we could get clobbered by really high prices in July and August.

One other trickle-down of this, the price of diesel has gone up to $5.57 as the nationwide average for one gallon of diesel. That's a huge price and it's having a trickle-down on trucking, which is also going to have a trickle-down on many more products that you and I get at home.

One more thing on gasoline. This is really interesting, John. Only three states have not seen a statewide average higher than $4 a gallon -- Georgia, Kansas, and Oklahoma. When that switches over we could see every state in the country with a statewide average of $4 or $5 a gallon. We've not seen that since 2008, John.

BERMAN: Unwelcome news. All right, Pete. Thank you very much.

COLLINS: And new this morning, Finland is moving toward joining NATO. The Parliament of that country voting just hours ago to join the military alliance following years of neutrality. Sweden could soon follow suit. But one NATO member may throw a wrench into these plans.

Joining us now is Jim Sciutto, anchor and CNN's chief national security correspondent. So, Jim, I do wonder what your take is on what Turkey has said, so far, about this process because, of course, it has to be a unanimous decision? And I wonder if you think that is going to maybe potentially cause a bump in the road?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erdogan's comments certainly caught people by surprise at the end of last week, saying that he was not positive about Finland, and Sweden in particular, joining. Over the weekend, a spokesman for the president and others walked that back somewhat.

It appears that what Erdogan is drawing attention to, with particular attention to Sweden -- Sweden allows PKK, which is a Kurdish nationalist group, which Turkey views as a terrorist group -- it allows them to have offices in Sweden. And Turkey, therefore, accuses Sweden of harboring terrorists.

Erdogan mentioned that in -- not in so many words but he referenced that this weekend -- rather, the end of last week, and then other officials since then. So it may be that Turkey is looking for concessions and assurances from Sweden that this can't happen anymore, right, and then Turkey would remove its opposition.

So, since then, they have said it's not so much about Russia and Finland here as about Turkey's specific issue with Sweden.

Now, listen, Turkey's a NATO member and as you said, Kaitlan, it's got to be unanimous leadership so they have -- rather, unanimous support for a new member. So they've got some leverage here. We'll see if this leads to a negotiation or someone more protracted.

BERMAN: So, Jim, you're a young man but I'm old enough to remember when McDonald's opened up shop in Russia --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BERMAN: -- in Moscow. It was like 1990. And it was the biggest thing ever. I mean, you can see the lines. Thousands and thousands of people lined up when McDonald's opened its doors in Moscow for the first time. And now, we're learning this morning McDonald's pulling out of Russia altogether.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BERMAN: Just the significance of this.

SCIUTTO: It is. Listen, McDonald's was a large symbol, though, of what the theory was, which was engage with Russia, do business with Russia, and we will be friends, in effect. Diplomatically, Russia will develop. It will become an open economy. It will become a democracy.

I mean, this was really the thinking. And the thinking persisted for both parties, frankly, until recent years, even in the face of a whole host of contradictory evidence. The invasion of Georgia in 2008. Anti- democratic practices by Putin. Poisonings of dissidents, and so on. But now what we're seeing is that the Ukraine invasion was the step too far, not just for the U.S. and NATO but also for Western businesses like McDonald's.

And it's really a sad marker here because following the Berlin Wall, collapse of the Soviet Union. This was a hopeful moment, right? It was the end of the Cold War. This old conflict is done. And now, we're seeing it back. The Berlin Wall, in a way, symbolically going up again.

So, McDonald's leaving. It's one business but it's symbolic of a larger break between Russia and the West.

COLLINS: It's hugely symbolic. SCIUTTO: Yes.

COLLINS: It really just raises so many questions.

[08:00:00]